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What is a High-Risk Pregnancy
A high-risk pregnancy is one that requires a little more attention from your obstetrician. Dr. Miles Byrd, OBGYN, discusses what it means to have a high-risk pregnancy.
Featuring:
Dr. Byrd is a member of the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association. He is passionate about high risk obstetrics, minimally invasive surgery and preventive healthcare for women of all ages and believes a mutually engaged patient-doctor relationship plus the delivery of quality, evidenced-based medicine will improve the health and quality of life of his patients.
Dr. Byrd is married and has two children. He enjoys traveling internationally, current events, reading and spending time with family and friends.
Learn more about Miles Byrd, MD
Miles Byrd, MD
Dr. Miles Byrd, MD is board eligible in Gynecology and Obstetrics. He is a graduate of Morehouse College and earned his medical degree at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN. He pursued his interest in epidemiology as a research associate at Harvard University, where he participated in research at the Harvard School of Public Health. Following medical school, he completed his Obstetrics & Gynecology residency at Albany Medical Center in New York. He has been serving the Tallahassee community since 2016.Dr. Byrd is a member of the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association. He is passionate about high risk obstetrics, minimally invasive surgery and preventive healthcare for women of all ages and believes a mutually engaged patient-doctor relationship plus the delivery of quality, evidenced-based medicine will improve the health and quality of life of his patients.
Dr. Byrd is married and has two children. He enjoys traveling internationally, current events, reading and spending time with family and friends.
Learn more about Miles Byrd, MD
Transcription:
Prakash Chandran (Host): Pregnancy can be a really exciting time but what if you are told you have a high risk pregnancy? It sounds scary, but today we will understand what that exactly means and the steps you can take to have a healthy pregnancy and baby. Let’s talk with Dr. Miles Byrd an Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialist at Capital Regional Women’s Health.
This is Helmet of Health, the podcast from Capital Regional Medical Center. I’m Prakash Chandran. So, Dr. Byrd, what exactly does it mean to have a high risk pregnancy?
Miles Byrd, MD (Guest): That’s a good question and thanks so much for having me and asking me. For most women, yes, pregnancy is a very exciting time and if you are ever given information that your pregnancy is considered high risk; it usually means that the pregnancy is complicated by some sort of disease or a disorder that might just require a little bit more attention from your obstetrician.
Host: Okay and how do we know when a pregnancy is high risk? Is there like a screening of some sort that women have to go through in order to assess that?
Dr. Byrd: There is some pretesting and screening that you can do. There are some things that are more definitive than others. But usually it’s sometimes based on say for instance your previous obstetrical history. Like if you ever had a pregnancy where there were previous complications. Sometimes things such as age, anybody over 35 or older are usually considered high risk. There is also a family history component. Prior pregnancy outcome component. And just like I said, usually history of other pregnancy related complications are usually some of the components that would necessitate a diagnosis of a possible high risk pregnancy.
Host: So, yeah, you were talking about previous pregnancy components being some of the potential risk factors. What about outside of that like is there anything else like for example if this is a first time pregnancy, what really contributes to making it a high risk pregnancy in those cases?
Dr. Byrd: Usually with first time pregnancies, some of the things that can contribute to it becoming a high risk pregnancy are things like very young age, medical conditions associated with the mother. Like I said, anything that the baby might show via ultrasound, things like that. Those would be some of the things that would be considered high risk in a first pregnancy.
Host: Got it. So, there’s no like specific signs or symptoms that a woman might have to say that she was high risk, is that correct?
Dr. Byrd: Correct.
Host: Okay, so, let’s say that there’s some screening that’s done and it is considered a potential high risk pregnancy. What steps can mothers or families take to just make sure that things move along healthy like you said at the top of the episode, maybe a little bit more special attention is needed. So maybe talk a little bit about what you can do once you identify you are high risk.
Dr. Byrd: Once you are identified as high risk, one of your biggest armaments to have a healthy pregnancy are things like targeted ultrasounds, amniocentesis, labs that are actually drawn and followed throughout the pregnancy. The other thing is actually following the prenatal appointment schedule, eating a healthy diet, gaining weight wisely and probably avoiding risky substances like cigarette smoke, things of that nature.
Host: I see. So, really leading that healthy lifestyle and I’m assuming Dr. Byrd that once you kind of establish a primary OB-GYN and you are going through that appointment schedule; they will be the ones to tell you whether you have a high risk pregnancy and what to do about it. Is that correct?
Dr. Byrd: That is exactly correct.
Host: Okay so I’m just curious about just in closing here; what other steps women can take to promote a healthy pregnancy to begin with.
Dr. Byrd: One of the major steps any woman who wants to promote a healthy pregnancy is to one begin any healthy pregnancy even prior to conception meaning scheduling a preconception appointment with your obstetrician to talk about potential risk factors and potential complications. Again, eating healthy, weight gain, wisely gaining weight, making sure that you are aware of you and your partner’s medical conditions. Those would be the things that I would suggest that would one, help us identify early in the pregnancy some of the things that can contribute to being considered a high risk pregnancy and not only that, giving us the adequate amount of time to really develop a plan that is going to optimize a healthy pregnancy.
Host: All right Dr. Byrd, I really appreciate your time. That’s Dr. Miles Byrd an Obstetrics and Gynecology specialist at Capital Regional Women’s Health. Thanks for checking out this episode of Helmet of Health. Head to www.capitalregionalwh.com to get connected with a provider. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels. That would really help us out. And be sure to check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. Thanks and we will see you next time.
Prakash Chandran (Host): Pregnancy can be a really exciting time but what if you are told you have a high risk pregnancy? It sounds scary, but today we will understand what that exactly means and the steps you can take to have a healthy pregnancy and baby. Let’s talk with Dr. Miles Byrd an Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialist at Capital Regional Women’s Health.
This is Helmet of Health, the podcast from Capital Regional Medical Center. I’m Prakash Chandran. So, Dr. Byrd, what exactly does it mean to have a high risk pregnancy?
Miles Byrd, MD (Guest): That’s a good question and thanks so much for having me and asking me. For most women, yes, pregnancy is a very exciting time and if you are ever given information that your pregnancy is considered high risk; it usually means that the pregnancy is complicated by some sort of disease or a disorder that might just require a little bit more attention from your obstetrician.
Host: Okay and how do we know when a pregnancy is high risk? Is there like a screening of some sort that women have to go through in order to assess that?
Dr. Byrd: There is some pretesting and screening that you can do. There are some things that are more definitive than others. But usually it’s sometimes based on say for instance your previous obstetrical history. Like if you ever had a pregnancy where there were previous complications. Sometimes things such as age, anybody over 35 or older are usually considered high risk. There is also a family history component. Prior pregnancy outcome component. And just like I said, usually history of other pregnancy related complications are usually some of the components that would necessitate a diagnosis of a possible high risk pregnancy.
Host: So, yeah, you were talking about previous pregnancy components being some of the potential risk factors. What about outside of that like is there anything else like for example if this is a first time pregnancy, what really contributes to making it a high risk pregnancy in those cases?
Dr. Byrd: Usually with first time pregnancies, some of the things that can contribute to it becoming a high risk pregnancy are things like very young age, medical conditions associated with the mother. Like I said, anything that the baby might show via ultrasound, things like that. Those would be some of the things that would be considered high risk in a first pregnancy.
Host: Got it. So, there’s no like specific signs or symptoms that a woman might have to say that she was high risk, is that correct?
Dr. Byrd: Correct.
Host: Okay, so, let’s say that there’s some screening that’s done and it is considered a potential high risk pregnancy. What steps can mothers or families take to just make sure that things move along healthy like you said at the top of the episode, maybe a little bit more special attention is needed. So maybe talk a little bit about what you can do once you identify you are high risk.
Dr. Byrd: Once you are identified as high risk, one of your biggest armaments to have a healthy pregnancy are things like targeted ultrasounds, amniocentesis, labs that are actually drawn and followed throughout the pregnancy. The other thing is actually following the prenatal appointment schedule, eating a healthy diet, gaining weight wisely and probably avoiding risky substances like cigarette smoke, things of that nature.
Host: I see. So, really leading that healthy lifestyle and I’m assuming Dr. Byrd that once you kind of establish a primary OB-GYN and you are going through that appointment schedule; they will be the ones to tell you whether you have a high risk pregnancy and what to do about it. Is that correct?
Dr. Byrd: That is exactly correct.
Host: Okay so I’m just curious about just in closing here; what other steps women can take to promote a healthy pregnancy to begin with.
Dr. Byrd: One of the major steps any woman who wants to promote a healthy pregnancy is to one begin any healthy pregnancy even prior to conception meaning scheduling a preconception appointment with your obstetrician to talk about potential risk factors and potential complications. Again, eating healthy, weight gain, wisely gaining weight, making sure that you are aware of you and your partner’s medical conditions. Those would be the things that I would suggest that would one, help us identify early in the pregnancy some of the things that can contribute to being considered a high risk pregnancy and not only that, giving us the adequate amount of time to really develop a plan that is going to optimize a healthy pregnancy.
Host: All right Dr. Byrd, I really appreciate your time. That’s Dr. Miles Byrd an Obstetrics and Gynecology specialist at Capital Regional Women’s Health. Thanks for checking out this episode of Helmet of Health. Head to www.capitalregionalwh.com to get connected with a provider. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels. That would really help us out. And be sure to check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. Thanks and we will see you next time.